New Regulations May Help Mongols Increase the Use of Their Own Language

May 24, 2005

New "Regulations on the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region's Mongolian Language Work" that became effective on May 1 contain provisions to promote the use of the Mongol language. At a time when Chinese government policies limit the use of the Uighur language in neighboring Xinjiang, the new Inner Mongolia regulations set specific guidelines for increasing the use of the Mongol language in government offices, courts, schools, and in the news media. For example, Article 13 stipulates that institutes of higher education should increase recruitment of Mongol-speaking students, as well as the number of classes using Mongolian as the language of instruction. Article 12 states that economic incentives should be offered to students receiving their primary and middle school instruction in Mongolian. Article 15 provides for the creation of Mongolian language technical training classes for peasants and herders.

New "Regulations on the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region's Mongolian Language Work" that became effective on May 1 contain provisions to promote the use of the Mongol language. At a time when Chinese government policies limit the use of the Uighur language in neighboring Xinjiang, the new Inner Mongolia regulations set specific guidelines for increasing the use of the Mongol language in government offices, courts, schools, and in the news media. For example, Article 13 stipulates that institutes of higher education should increase recruitment of Mongol-speaking students, as well as the number of classes using Mongolian as the language of instruction. Article 12 states that economic incentives should be offered to students receiving their primary and middle school instruction in Mongolian. Article 15 provides for the creation of Mongolian language technical training classes for peasants and herders.

If implemented, those guidelines that appear intended to reward the bilingual should favor Mongols, because many more Mongols speak and read Chinese well than Han Chinese speak or read Mongolian. The new regulations urge the Inner Mongolia People's Congress to provide bonuses to bilingual state workers. Any examination for hiring or promotions, whether in the government or the private sector, must be given in Mongolian to those who request it. Article 25 creates a preference for bilingual applicants when choosing between two otherwise similarly qualified candidates. The regulations require more and longer Mongol language news media broadcasts, as well as an increase in Mongol language reading materials for both inside and outside the classroom. Article 18 not only demands more Mongolian-language translators in government offices and state-owned enterprises, but also contains measures to raise their status and salaries. Government officials working in petitioning offices now are required to respond in the Mongol language to petitions they receive in Mongolian.

The Chinese Constitution and the Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law enshrine the right of minorities to use and develop their native languages, but many minorities have found it difficult to use their own languages. Among the primary reasons are the expanded use of Han Chinese as the PRC's lingua franca, the government's common practice of requiring all taking national university examinations to use Chinese, government recruitment policies favoring those who speak Chinese, and, at times, outright bans on minority language use in schools and courtrooms. Practical concerns, such as how to standardize minority languages with numerous dialects or how to transcribe languages lacking their own written scripts, have also complicated the promotion of minority languages.